Chef Leah Cohen (in fedora), a former contestant on “Top Chef,” is succeeding at Pig and Khao with inventive spicy twists and expert takes on classic Southeast-Asian dishes. Photo:

Khao soi (above), with egg noodles in a red curry, is delish, as are the tender fried oysters. (Gabi Porter(3))

fried oysters

Chef Leah Cohen (in fedora), a former contestant on “Top Chef,” is succeeding at Pig and Khao with inventive spicy twists and expert takes on classic Southeast-Asian dishes. (
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Pig and Khao gives grown-ups a reason to brave the Loisaida boozing ground. “Top Chef” star Leah Cohen’s rough-edged new Southeast Asian spot isn’t pretty, but it’s adorable. The vibe’s warm and the menu scorching. Who cares if it’s as much a product of her imagination as an exacting replica of Filipino and Thai cuisines?

“Khao” is Thai for rice. There’s plenty of it and of pork, but the menu roams far beyond both. A month since the opening, Cohen has joined the ranks of such persuasive Asian-fantasy weavers as David Chang, Dale Talde and Zak Pelaccio. Her style’s different from their Korean, Malaysian and Filipino “interpretations,” but shares their restless spirit.

She’s partners with Fatty Crew Hospitality Group, an offshoot of the Fatty Crab/Fatty ’Cue mini-empire co-founded by Pelaccio. He’s not involved at Pig and Khao, but the tight, narrow dining room has the Fatty feel — white brick walls, vertical wooden wall slats, tile floor and green trim that flickers to the whim of up-and-down lighting. A shiny copper ceiling looks a lot fresher than the building’s 100 years.

Steam and sensuous aromas pour from the open kitchen where a straw-hatted Cohen presides serenely over a team slaving like stevedores. Sit at the counter and watch them sweat. Or sit in a rear “garden” and freeze: There’s neither roof nor heater.

There’s fire to spare on the menu. Expect less of the sweet and sour, salty and bitter balance for which Thai and Filipino cuisines are known; Cohen aims for impact, not subtlety. Her best work is in “small plates” that are anything but small and mostly under $15.

Several reflect tradition. Crispy red-curry rice salad sizzled throughout crunch-on-crunch strata: finely minced pork, crisp garlic, peanuts and, of course, rice — spiced, rolled, flattened and deep-fried to a satisfying toothsomeness. It would be an exercise in sheer throat-scorching if myriad distinct notes — ginger, mint and cilantro, to name a few — didn’t flare like shooting stars through the blaze.

Khao soi is based on a northern Thai classic, but try finding one like this anywhere else in Manhattan. Smooth, coconut-y red curry unifies a fantasia of egg noodles boiled and fried, chicken seasoned with fish sauce, pickled mustard greens, cilantro and onions — think of an all-you-can-eat stroll down Canal Street.

Part of the fun at a place like this is to judge how seamlessly (or not) the chef’s inventions fit with the classics. Cohen brazenly introduces pork jowl to fiery watermelon and kaffir lime cooked sous vide-style for 24 hours. Maybe that’s more common in Manhattan than in Manila. But so what if the result tastes strangely at home amid traditional dishes?

Fermented branzino, a crisp-skinned filet embraced in multidimensional coconut sauce full of minced prawns, costs a puny $14. If they have fried oysters, you’ll want two orders for four people. The Blue Points are small but impossibly tender and battered to an irresistible moonscape crackle. Sparks fly from garlic, ginger, chilies and lime- juice dipping sauce.

Larger plates were a relative letdown. Crispy pata (pork leg) emerged leathery from the fryer. So did oven-roasted and grilled curry lamb ribs one night after they’d been perfect the time before.